One month had passed, and Jayden had still not experienced his curse. His marriage saved him from the agony he had previously endured.

At the florist shop, while Ember was watering the flowers, Aubrey grumbles about wanting to go on vacation.

"Ember, spring is just around the corner. Are we going to work all year? We worked in the spring last year as well. I know that spring is a good time to do business, but we also need to rest. So, I'd like to suggest that we take a vacation this year."

"Where do you want to go on vacation?"

"We're going to my father's hometown."

"We? Did you say we just now?"

"Yes. We'll go there together."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can accompany you there. I'm married, you see. I need my husband's permission. Perhaps he'd like to take me somewhere else."

Ember responds with a cheerful expression on her face, but Aubrey shows a sullen and dissatisfied expression.

"Hmmmm..."

"I apologise, my dear Aubrey."

Ember looks at her and laughs, an evil laugh. That night, while sitting in the living room watching television, Ember informed Jayden, "Hmm... this spring we closed the shop."

"Yeah, I know about that."

"How did you know?"

"I'm taking a break from work as well, so we're going on vacation."

Ember was surprised to hear it. Finally, we can go on a vacation together.

Ohh... so romantic. I'm curious where he will take me. Her voice filled with excitement, she asked Jayden.

"Really, where are we going?"

"We'll be visiting Aubrey's grandfather's hometown."

Ember's expression changed instantly, expressing her disbelief and wanting certainty.

"Pardon?"

"We'll be going to Aubrey's father's hometown."

Ember was astounded and remained silent after hearing Jayden's words.

"What's wrong with you? You don't seem happy."

"I'm fine..." Ember forced a smile. She continued, "How did you learn about Aubrey's father's hometown?"

"Aubrey called and said the place was great for a vacation."

"So she's the mastermind."

"Mastermind?"

"Nothing... you misheard."

With a forced smile, she tries to cover what she is saying. She can imagine right now, Aubrey laughing happily with an evil laugh.

Spring has arrived. Ember and Jayden walked to the car. Xander was already waiting for them outside. Aubrey came excited, dragging her luggage.

"Ember..."

"Hello, mastermind."

"Hmmm... Are you still sulking? I've apologised to you, but you're still sulky." Aubrey begged for sympathy with a sad expression. Ember looked at her with a resigned expression.

"Your acting skills are outstanding."

Aubrey grinned at Ember's words, because Ember can't fall with her tricks. Jayden cuts their conversations short and informs them.

"Let's get in the car. Everything has already been loaded into the car and we are ready to go."

Xander wants to drive the car, but Jayden stops him, "I'm driving today, so you're sitting in the back."

"But master..."

"It's all right."

Jayden patted his shoulder with a smile. Ember sat next to Jayden. Aubrey and Xander sat in the back seat. Jayden was curious about how long it would take to get there, so he asked Aubrey.

"Aubrey, how long does it take to get there?

"About four hours."

They talk and laugh along the way. Aubrey fell asleep after getting tired of talking. Her head rested on Xander's shoulder. Xander was taken aback, but he just let Aubrey's head rest on his shoulder, but he became stiff. He feels happy but embarrassed at the same time because Jayden glances at them from the rear view mirror. After seeing Aubrey asleep on Xander's shoulder, Jayden asked Ember.

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"Are you not sleepy?"

"No, I'm not sleepy. Don't worry about me."

They arrived after four hours of driving. Ember turned to look at Aubrey, who was still sleeping soundly on Xander's shoulder.

"Princess Aubrey, wake up, we're here."

Aubrey opened her eyes and yawned, "It's finally here. I'm completely exhausted."

Xander was astounded, staring at her. Seriously, this woman is not only a glutton but also a sleepaholic. He spoke up because of curiosity.

"Are you the one who is driving? Why are you so tired?"

"Because I'm sick of sitting in the car for so long."

Jayden looked around perplexed and stopped the car. Ember feels weird about why Jayden stopped the car.

"Why did you stop the car?"

"Are you sure this is the right place?"

Aubrey also looks around and confirms it to Jayden.

"Yes, and why?"

"How come the signboard says, Welcome to the Haunted Village?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention that the name of this village is indeed Haunted Village.

"Seriously?" Xander shows his face in disbelief. Aubrey stared at him and cracked a joke.

"Are you scared?"

"I'm not. Not at all."

Jayden cast a glance at Ember, who remained silent. Then he continued on their journey. After only a few minutes, they arrived at Aubrey's grandfather's house. There aren't many houses in this village. Aubrey's grandfather's house was a little further away from the neighbours' house. Aubrey's grandfather came out of the house to greet them. Victor Wallace is 75 years old, has grey hair, and sterling grey eyes, and his son is Aubrey's father. Aubrey hugged and greeted her grandfather happily.

"Grandpa, I miss you so much."

"I'm glad you came." Victor was overjoyed. He cast a glance at Ember.

"Oh Ember, you also came?"

"Yes, Grandpa, nice to meet you." Ember responded with a smile.

"And who are they?" Victor inquired once more.

"My name is Jayden, and I'm Ember's husband."

Victor was surprised that Ember was already married when he last saw her when she was 20 years old and when he came to Aubrey's house.

"Oh, Ember is married. Congratulations, Ember. That was unexpected."

Victor congratulates them with a cheerful expression. Ember nodded and smiled shyly. Victor turned to look at Xander, and he was curious.

"And who are you? Are you Aubrey's boyfriend?"

Aubrey and Xander were shocked and blushed with embarrassment. She turned to look at Xander. She worries if Xander feels offended.

"His name is Xander, and he is not my boyfriend."

"What a pity. I was hoping to meet my grandson-in-law. Apparently not yet. Maybe I won't get to meet my grandson-in-law until I die."

Victor's face was sad as he expressed his feelings. Aubrey spoke in a serious voice, because he thought Victor was overreacting.

"Grandpa, you're overreacting."

"Forget it, let's go inside."

Victor turned around and walked with a resigned expression on his face. They were shocked by Victor's behaviour.

Victor's home is simply large. It has a back yard and a water fountain. Victor invited them to sit in the backyard for afternoon tea after they kept their belongings. while they sat down for afternoon tea. Xander expressed his curiosity and asked.

"I noticed that there are no flowers in this village. Even now, it's spring."

"Well, flowers will not grow here."

Xander and Jayden were surprised to hear this. Ember and Aubrey show no reaction because they know this village has no flowers, even during spring. Jayden was also intrigued.

"Why?"

"This village has a history. Do you want to know why?"

"Yes," Aubrey replied quickly before they answered. Xander was curious to see Aubrey's reaction.

"Don't you know anything about the history of this village?"

"No, this old man never wanted to tell me before, even though I asked many times."

"Because you were a child before, and now you're an adult. It's okay for you to know."

He went on, "The story goes like this. According to ancient beliefs, this village is home to fox spirits."

They were all shocked when they heard Victor's words. They just sat quietly and listened.

"White foxes, white foxes who live here. Unfortunately, they do not stay long because they are attacked by dark foxes. Because there are many deaths here, and the foxes' souls wander because they are restless. After that, humans began to inhabit this place. Until now, the souls of the white and dark foxes had been hiding in the ground. However, they will occasionally appear at night. Their souls are like fireflies, but much larger."

Aubrey's eyes sparkled, filled with curiosity.

"Grandpa, have you ever seen it?"

"Actually, I did it twice. I used to see those souls when I was younger. But now, I've never seen them again."

Ember looked around, then asked because she was still confused.

"What does the flower have to do with the foxes' souls?"

"Flowers do not grow because, according to them, souls live in the ground. Beautiful flowers will not grow because they are restless souls, except for trees and grass."

Jayden was thinking that he'd heard this story before. Here he is in this place right now. But this story was a few decades ago. He was curious if people still believed this story.

"Do the people here believe this story?"

"They used to believe it, but after generations, they just dismissed it as a fairy tale. When I first heard about it, I didn't believe it, but when I saw it in person, I did. I also saw the white fox spirit once. From human to fox form. It was amazing to see the scene, and I believe we live among them here in this world."

Ember and Jayden exchange glances as they hear Victor's words. Aubrey glances at Jayden and Xander. Xander feels weird because Aubrey is staring at him. What is she doing staring at me? Xander felt uncomfortable with Aubrey still staring at him, so he spoke to Victor to change the situation.

"Are you scared?"

"Scared? I wish to see it again."

Victor laughed aloud. He went on to say, "Oh yes! According to my ancestors, a member of our family once married a fox spirit."

They were all stunned to hear Victor's words. So it isn't us first married to humans, Jayden thought.

"Seriously? That's incredible. I'm sure I have fox spirit relatives somewhere." Aubrey exclaimed with delight. Victor looks at Jayden.

"So Jayden, what do you think of this story? Do you believe it?"

"Yes, because they do exist."

Ember looked at Jayden, then elsewhere, and recalled coming here with Aubrey when she was 12 years old. When she was sleeping at night, she felt a light presence outside the door. She stood up and opened the door. She saw a light and followed it. The light came to a halt, as if looking at her. The light gradually turns reddish and then dark. Ember lost consciousness as the light flew quickly towards her. Aubrey and Victor found her lying on the floor the next day.

"Ember, Ember, Ember..."

"Y-Yes... What is it?"

Ember had just realised that Jayden had called her.

"I called you several times, but you didn't answer. What happened?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you call."

Aubrey notices Ember is not feeling well, and she thinks she should be in charge of preparing dinner today.

"Ember, you should go take a rest first. We'll have dinner together later. I'm in the kitchen today."

When Jayden brought Ember into their room, Ember still felt her mind was blank. She was just being quiet.

"Lie here, you look tired, you need a rest."

She just lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. She just followed Jayden's order.